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*****************OVERVIEW*******************
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Dataverse Replication materials: "Toothless Compulsory Voting
Can Increase Turnout: Evidence from India," by Reshikesav Rajan and Shane P. Singh

Below is a description of the data files, the analysis files, and the codebook, as well as step-by-step instructions for the replication of the content of all tables, figures, and associated claims in the article and Supporting Information.

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***********COMPUTE ENVIRONMENT**************
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Operating system:						Windows OS (64-bit operating system, x64-based processo)
Statistical software versions					Stata/BE 18.0 for for Windows (64-bit x86-64) Revision 16 Oct 2024
Estimated run time for all analyses				30 minutes
Packages used in analysis					COEFPLOT (http://repec.sowi.unibe.ch/stata/coefplot/getting-started.html) 
								


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**********REPLICATING THE ANALYSIS**********
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**Necessary Files
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Full Dataset Merged and Coded.dta				The complete set of variables and observations used for the main text analysis as well as figures in SM2, SM3, SM6, and SM8. It contains district-level voter turnout and various demographic variables about the district's population, combining original data, NSS survey data, and Census data. 
Parallel Trends Plot State Data.dta 				Data on state-level voter turnout used to produce the parallel trends figure in SM1. It contains the actual voter turnout and interpolated turnout levels for the inter-election years.
Karnataka Election Data ALL.dta					Data on voter turnout across various elections in Karnataka used to produce the corresponding figure in SM7.

Main Text Tables Replication Code.do				Contains code for reproducing the figures and empirical claims in the main text 
SM Replication Code.do				        Contains code for reproducing the figures, tables, and empirical claims in the Supporting Materials

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**Instructions and Further Description
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1. Download all of the necessary files listed above to the same working folder.

2. Set your working directory in Stata to the folder in which you stored all of the necessary files.

3. Replicate the analyses in the main text. Open and run “Main Text Tables Replication Code.do”. The included code will reproduce the content shown in the figures displayed in the main text. It also provides code for analyses behind claims made in the main text. 

4. Replicate the analyses in the Supporting Information. Open and run “SM1-SM3 Replication Code.do” and "SM6-SM8 Replication Code.do". The included code will reproduce the content shown in the tables and figures displayed in the Supporting Information. It also provides code for analyses behind claims made in the Supporting Information.


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****************OTHER FILES*****************
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Codebook.pdf							Describes each variable used in the analyses and gives information on coding, sources, and measurement 
readme.txt							This file




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*************DATASET CITATIONS**************
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Indian Household Consumer Expenditure, NSS 68th Round Sch1.0 Type 2 : July 2011 - June 2012 Type - 2. Household Consumer Expenditure, NSS 68th Round Sch1.0 Type 2 : July 2011 - June 2012. https://microdata.gov.in/NADA/index.php/catalog/126. 

Karnataka State Election Commission. 2025. 2015 Grama Panchayat Results.

Kerala State Election Commission. 2025. General Election Results - 2015.

Office of the Registrar General & Census Commissioner, India. Census of India 2011: Provisional Population Totals. New Delhi: Ministry of Home Affairs, Government of India, 2011. 

Rajasthan State Election Commission. 2014. Manual of Panchayati Raj Election Law (Rajasthan).

Tamil Nadu State Election Commission. 2025. Election Results.

West Bengal State Election Commission. 2025. General Election Management System.


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************REPLICATION CONTACT*************
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Reshi Rajan
rrajan@tamu.edu
https://reshi-rajan.github.io/





